Electrostatic clamps or chucks (ESCs) are often utilized in the semiconductor industry for clamping and maintaining workpieces or substrates in a fixed position relative to a support or clamping surface during plasma-based or vacuum-based semiconductor processes such as ion implantation, etching, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), etc. Electrostatic clamping capabilities of the ESCs, as well as workpiece temperature control, have proven to be quite valuable in processing semiconductor substrates or wafers, such as silicon wafers. A typical ESC, for example, comprises a dielectric layer positioned over a conductive electrode or backing plate, wherein the semiconductor wafer is placed on a surface of the ESC (e.g., the wafer is placed on a surface of the dielectric layer). During semiconductor processing (e.g., ion implantation), a clamping voltage is typically applied between the wafer and the electrode, wherein the wafer is clamped against the chuck surface by electrostatic forces.
In some circumstances, it is desirable to process different size workpieces. However, conventional systems are designed to either handle a single size workpiece, or to exchange workpiece clamping devices to accommodate variable workpiece sizes. Further, depending on desired heating and/or cooling of the workpiece during processing for certain applications, significant and time-consuming changes to the clamping device may be necessitated in order to achieve the desired processing.